


And Then There Was You

by kas_cosplays



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Coming Out, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Logan is a sweet space nerd and Virgil is a tough emo with a soft spot, M/M, Redhead Logan, Short Logic | Logan Sanders, Strangers to Lovers, Tall Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Useless Gays, these two are so cute i swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kas_cosplays/pseuds/kas_cosplays
Summary: Logan has always been an outcast who spends his lunch hour in the library. He is a nerdy redhead that no one wants to be around. Then there is Virgil, the cool emo loner that has an interesting sense of style. Things change for Logan when Virgil sits next to him one day. They soon become friends, but over time, feelings start to develop between the two of them.
Relationships: Analogical - Relationship, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	And Then There Was You

**Author's Note:**

> CW: bullying, homophobic classmates/students, school fight, mention of blood, swearing
> 
> This is an AU I came up with my friend jelli.doodles on Instagram.

Logan had never been the type to make friends easily. He was too nerdy for most people’s taste, and he talked too much for the other nerds to enjoy his company. Plus, no one wanted to hang out with the redhead that had been labeled the class geek and was constantly made fun of. He often spent his time alone in the library, reading a book and trying to ignore the feeling of loneliness that constantly gnawed at him.

That changed when the boy arrived. He stormed into the library with his clunky combat boots and plopped his backpack down near Logan. He seemed to like anything with holes in them, seeing as his shirt and pants were ripped and he wore fishnets beneath them. His dark purple hair was pulled up in a bun, showing off his chain earring. Logan tried to be subtle as he took in these fascinating details, but failed miserably.

“What are you staring at?” the boy challenged.

Logan quickly turned back to his book as if he hadn’t just been staring at him like a complete weirdo.

Much to his surprise, the strange boy came back the next day. And the next. And the next. He never said anything, just sat down in his spot and propped his leg up on a spare chair. He didn’t do much while he was there. Sometimes he went on his phone, but most of the time he was just constantly looking at the entrance to the library, seemingly paranoid. Not that Logan was paying attention or anything, he most certainly hadn’t found interest in this strange boy who had chosen him of all people to sit next to. There were plenty of empty seats in here, and yet he chose the one close to him.

What weirded him out more was when the boy started walking to class with him. One day, Logan left the library, and he was there beside him, backpack slung over one shoulder and a hand in his pocket. At the time, he had no idea why he did this. Over time, he started appearing during his other passing periods too, like a dark guardian angel. 

After about a week of him walking Logan to all his classes, he finally decided to confront the boy about it. They were sitting in the library like usual. The boy was on his phone and was listening to music through one earbud. Logan closed the book he was reading and gently set it down. This got the boy’s attention, and he looked up at him.

“Why have you been following me?” Logan asked. “I don’t even know you.”

The boy shrugged and pulled out his earbud. He set his phone on the table and propped his chin on his hand. “Seems like you could use the company.”

He raised an eyebrow, wondering why he had decided that he, of all people, would be good company. “You could at least say something to me so it does not appear as though you’re stalking me.”

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “If I was really stalking you, you wouldn’t know I was doing it.” The dark humor seemed to unsettle Logan, so he hastily added, “I’m joking, of course, I would never actually stalk someone.”

He brushed some hair out of his face and slowly said, “Right…” He drummed his fingers on his leg nervously. “So, who are you? I’m-”

“Logan, I know,” the boy replied. “Everyone knows who you are.”

That statement seemed to unsettle him. “Everyone?”

“Everyone. Word travels fast that you’re supposedly the weird kid and that no one should hang out with you.”

Logan looked away from him. He didn’t need to be reminded that he was a loner, a misfit, a weirdo.

The boy quickly realized his mistake and said, “I don’t think that though! I don’t think that at all. You don’t seem weird to me.”

“Save it,” he mumbled and picked up his book. “I don’t need you making fun of me. Find someone else to bother.” He started opening the book.

“I’m Virgil,” he blurted, which got Logan’s attention. “My name’s Virgil. Sorry if I’ve weirded you out by, you know, following you and all.” He adjusted his fishnet gloves. “I probably should have introduced myself sooner, sorry.”

He shrugged and put the book down again. “It’s fine, I guess. Why were you doing it anyway?”

He seemed hesitant to respond. Lucky for him, the bell rang, sparing him the need to explain. Logan pressed him about it all day, but he kept brushing it off. It wasn’t until Virgil was walking him to the bus stop that he finally said something. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you,” Virgil said after Logan repeatedly asked the same question over and over again. “You can get real annoying you know.”

Logan smiled with satisfaction. “I’m well aware, and I use it to my advantage to obtain information. Now tell me.”

Virgil sighed and glanced around. He lowered his voice and said, “I used to have these friends who were pretty toxic. Just before I broke away from them, they were talking about cornering you at some point and beating you up. That was months ago, and I kind of ignored it. But then on the day I sat with you, I saw them walking towards the library. They were laughing and playfully shoving one another, and I had a feeling they were going to pick on you. I was having a bad day, so I decided to piss them off and get in their way. I sat with you, and they backed off. From there, well, I guess I decided I may as well stick around, just in case.” He shrugged. “I know how it feels to be picked on and didn’t want you to experience that.”

Logan was quiet as he processed all of this information. Finally, he said, “Thank you, I guess. That… that is very kind of you to do. No one’s really… done that for me before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, look at me.” He motioned to himself. Today was one of the days he’d decided to wear a tie with his button up, and his socks had constellations on them. He’d often been told he overdressed for school, but at this point he didn’t care. “I am the literal embodiment of the stereotypical nerd, of course no one is going to stand up for me. I got the braces and everything! So the fact that you, a really tough emo looking guy, stood up for me when you didn’t even know me…” He felt his face getting hot, and he hugged his book tighter to his chest. “I-I-It’s unbelievable!” He looked up and realized he was at his bus. “Oh, I have to go now, this is my bus. I’ll see you tomorrow I guess?”

Virgil had maintained a cool smile as Logan spoke, enjoying how flustered he was. He looked at the bus and then at Logan. “You do realize this is my bus too, right?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not just saying that so you can follow me, are you?”

He shook his head. “No, really, this is my bus. You probably never noticed cause you’ve always got your nose stuck in one of these.” He tapped the top of his book. When Logan looked down at the book, Virgil brought his finger up to boop his nose. “Made ya look. Now come on.” He climbed onto the bus and made his way to the very back, where the loud kids sat. 

Logan blinked a few times, processing what just happened. Then he scrambled onto the bus so it wouldn’t drive off without him. He usually sat in the front of the bus, where no one could turn around in their seat and knock the book from his hands. That had happened far too many times in the past. But Virgil was already towards the back and motioning for him to follow, so it was too late to ask him to sit up front. He glanced at his usual seat and then followed him to the back of the bus.

“What are you doing over here, nerd?”

“Hey Logan, maybe you should get a book on social skills.”

“Did your mommy forget to pick you up, geek?”

“Nice tie, hothead.”

Someone stuck out their foot, causing Logan to trip. He probably would have fallen flat on his face and made a complete fool of himself had he not instead faceplated into someone’s chest. He looked up to see Virgil, who had quickly grabbed onto him to stop his fall. “Easy there,” he said and helped him stand upright. “Are you okay?”

Logan nodded. His face was even redder than his hair, and he quickly looked down. “So-sorry, I tripped.” His face grew even more red as he realized Virgil’s hands were still on him. He wasn’t used to such contact and it embarrassed him. 

“Oooh, you gonna kiss?” someone teased.

“Yeah, kiss you little-”

“Fuck off,” Virgil snapped as he shot a glare at the boys who were taunting them. He took his hands off of Logan and motioned to the empty seat nearby. “Go ahead.”

Logan nodded and quickly got into the seat, sitting as close to the window as he possibly could. He fixed his hair and pulled the book tightly to his chest. He’d been in some embarrassing moments, but none of them were quite as embarrassing as that one. Maybe it was because someone had implied he was gay, and he hated someone calling him out on the truth.

Virgil slid into the seat next to him and kept a space between them, which Logan appreciated. He noticed how tense he was and asked, “Are you alright?”

He nodded but didn’t say anything. He opened up his book and held it close to his face so that the mixture of his hair and the book kept him hidden. Virgil respected that he wanted to be left alone and didn’t say anything for the whole bus ride.

Once they had both gotten off and were walking home, Virgil said, “That’s why you never sit in the back, isn’t it?” Logan nodded. “Sorry for kinda forcing you too, I didn’t think… well, I didn’t know just how rude people were to you.”

He shrugged and mumbled, “It’s fine, I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Hey.” He reached out a hand to stop him.

Logan looked up and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Virgil put a hand on his shoulder and said in a firm voice, “Don’t you ever, and I mean ever, downplay what someone did to you just because you’ve been through worse. What they did was still wrong and you have a right to be upset about it.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled. He pulled away and kept walking.

He was relentless and quickly caught up to him. “It’s okay to feel upset Logan.”

“And I know that,” he snapped. “I’m clearly upset, can’t you see?” He quickly caught himself and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry with you, I’m sorry.”

“Hey hey hey, calm down, it’s okay,” he said gently. “I understand why you got mad, you don’t have to apologize.” He gave him a reassuring smile.

Logan didn’t smile back and kept on walking. It was quiet between them, except for the sound of Virgil occasionally kicking a rock. Eventually, Logan stopped and mumbled, “I gotta go this way, so, I’ll see you around I guess.”

“Wait, don’t go quite yet,” Virgil said. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

He fixed his hair and shook his head. “No, no I’m not mad at you. I’m just upset at the situation.”

He nodded. “Hey, uh, I have a question.”

Logan stiffened, thinking he knew what it was going to be. “What is it?”

“Are you so upset cause of what those guys were saying, about us kissing? It was probably really awkward for you. I’m used to it by now, I’ve been called gay most of my life and turns out it’s true, but it probably wasn’t all that fun for you.”

He couldn’t help but stare at him. He was gay? So maybe..? No, don’t even think that. He looked away and nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t… it wasn’t fun.”

He nodded and kicked a rock away from him. “Um, I hate to intrude, but… are you? Gay, I mean. Are you gay?”

And there it was, the question he’d been dreading. What did he say? Did he deny it and have to tell him later? Should he come out to him when he hardly knew him? He hadn’t told anybody he was gay, seeing as he really didn’t have anyone to tell. His mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, because he blurted, “Yes. Yes, I’m… I’m gay. Yeah.” Did he really just do that? Did he really just come out?

Virgil smiled at him. “Cool. Still closeted, I assume?” When he nodded, he said, “I see. Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”

Logan gave him a shy smile. “Thanks. Really, thank you. I haven’t come out to anyone and I always imagined it being some big scary moment.” He let out a nervous chuckle.

He grinned and said, “Well, I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me. That’s a big step to take.”

He looked down bashfully, trying not to smile too much.

Virgil chuckled lightheartedly at his reaction. “I should probably go now. See you at school?”

“Yeah, see you.”

They quickly became friends after that and hung out with each other all the time. They talked during most of the time they spent together, and had to find a table outside so they didn’t disturb anyone in the library. This didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the kids at the school. Despite the fact that it was a rather large high school, it was filled with people who liked to gossip and spread rumors. For some reason, the lonely nerd becoming best friends with the loner emo was the current hot topic of conversation. 

Along with the usual bullying, people started to judge Logan for his relationship with Virgil. They’d often say things like:

“You’re too smart for him.”

“I bet he only hangs out with you so he can get homework answers.”

“Your friendship isn’t going to last long, you’re just too different.”

“He’s a really bad influence, you should stay away.”

Logan wasn’t the only one who was told things like this; Virgil also got comments, except the situation was reversed.

“You’re too dumb for him.”

“I bet you only hang out with him so you can get homework answers.”

“The friendship won’t last long, you’re too different.”

“You’re going to badly influence him, leave him alone.”

Virgil just shrugged them off, but Logan didn’t seem too happy about the extra hate. He finally made a friend, and suddenly everyone thought it was their business to tell him what he should and should not do. It was clearly affecting him and his happiness, so Virgil tried everything he could to cheer him up.

“Hey Logan,” he said at lunch one day. “Do you know why Pluto isn’t considered a planet?”

He looked up from his food, which he’d barely touched. “I do. Why?”

He leaned his head on his chin. “Can you explain to me why? It’s this huge debate but no one’s ever told me the reasoning behind it.”

Logan’s face lit up with excitement. He loved when Virgil asked him questions, especially about space. He enjoyed having someone other than his mom to rant to about all his nerdy facts. “It’s really simple. See, there are four main things that classify a planet. One, it’s non-luminescent, which means it doesn’t produce its own light, like a star does. Two, it has enough mass and gravity to be spherical in shape. Three, it orbits a star. Four, it has cleared its orbit. See, Pluto has yet to clear its orbit, which is why it’s not considered a planet. That’s also why objects in the asteroid belt can’t be planets.”

“Oh, okay, that makes sense,” Virgil said. “See, people only talk about whether or not it should be a planet, but when you explain why it’s not considered one, it makes sense.” He propped his feet up on a spare bench and said, “Tell me some other fun facts, you seem to know a lot.”

A bright grin spread across his face as he started talking to him about all sorts of things. This had only happened a few times before with Virgil where he let him just go off on a rant about whatever, and it made him so happy to have someone actually listen. He still found it unbelievable that Virgil enjoyed his ramblings. In fact, he knew some things Logan didn’t, and they always had the best conversations because of it. He also liked the way Virgil smiled as listened to whatever topic Logan was rambling about. It filled his heart with a warmth he couldn’t describe.

Later that day, as they were walking home from the bus, Logan was talking about how much he loved stargazing, and how he had always wanted a telescope. Out of nowhere, Virgil suggested, “What if we went stargazing together?”

Logan looked up at him hopefully. “Really? You actually want to go stargazing with me?”

“Yeah,” he said and smiled at him. “I know a spot not too far from here that would be perfect. I don’t think there’s supposed to be any clouds tonight, so it should be perfect. But if tonight doesn’t work we can do it some other time.”

“No, tonight would be perfect.” He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m probably going to be pointing out constellations half the time so if the talking gets to be too much, let me know, I’ll stop talking.”

“You never have to do that with me. You never have to stop talking about what you love,” he said in a gentle voice.

He looked over at him with a hopeful smile. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” He smiled back at him. “I’ll come pick you up at seven, that sound good?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll see you then.” He waved and then walked off to his house.

Holy shit. He was about to go stargazing with someone, and with Virgil nonetheless. He’d always dreamed of doing that with somebody, and now he finally had someone who wanted to do it. And it was VIRGIL! He could feel his heart flutter at the thought. This was going to be amazing, he could already tell.

Later that night, Logan was struggling to decide what he wanted to wear. It had to be perfect. He kept telling himself he should stop getting so worked up over it, but he couldn’t help it. He heard a knock at the front door and swore under his breath. He was only wearing jeans and space socks right now since he couldn’t decide on a shirt. Luckily, his mom answered the door, so that bought him some time. He grabbed a long sleeve NASA shirt, deciding that would be good enough. He checked his appearance, making sure he looked fine. He looked like he always did, which was decent. He huffed and mumbled, “It’s not like you’re going on a date, chill out. You’re just stargazing with a friend.” 

He left his room and went to the front door. His mom turned to him and said, “Oh, there he is. Don’t be out too late, okay? Text me if anything changes in your plans.”

“I will mom, don’t worry,” he reassured her. He turned to Virgil and couldn’t help but smile. His hair was down for once, and it looked messy in a cute way. He’d put on a black hoodie but still wore his ripped jeans with fishnets underneath them. “Hey Virgil,” he said, still unable to stop smiling.

“Hey.” He gave him a warm smile and looked at Logan’s mom. “I’ll have him back by one am at the latest, but it’ll probably be sooner than that.”

She nodded and gently pushed Logan towards the door. “You two have fun, and drive safe.”

“I will ma’am.” Virgil motioned for Logan to follow him to his car. They both got in and he immediately turned on the heat. “It’s supposed to be cold, are you sure you’ll be okay in just that?”

Logan looked down at his clothes and nodded. “Yeah, I should be fine. It can’t be too cold.”

Virgil shrugged and started to drive. The two fell silent, but it wasn’t awkward. Logan gazed out the window and twisted the edge of his shirt around his finger. “How far is it?” he asked.

“Not too far, maybe a twenty minute drive at most.”

He nodded, and they fell silent again. Logan could feel his heart start to beat faster the closer they got to their destination. Why was he so nervous? They were just stargazing. Was he irrationally worried Virgil was going to kidnap him? No, that wasn’t it. Why was he so worried?

“You okay over there?” Virgil asked, pulling him from his thoughts. 

He looked up, confused as to why he’d ask that. “Yeah, why?”

“You got that face you always get when someone’s mean to you, where you kind of withdraw into yourself because you’re so wrapped up in what you’re thinking.”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He did that? And Virgil noticed that he did that? “Oh,” he said quietly. “I didn’t realize…” He trailed off and looked out the window.

Virgil didn’t say anything for a minute, and then asked, “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

Logan ran a hand through his hair and let it fall in front of his eyes. “I don’t know, I…” He looked up at him and sighed. “I’m feeling anxious for some reason.”

“Do you know why you might be feeling that way?”

He shrugged. “I don’t really know, I just…” He sighed. “Maybe… well I don’t really know if it’s that.”

“Just say it. Talking about anxious thoughts can help you find out the source of it. Say whatever you think could be the cause.”

He sighed and looked down. “I guess, well… I haven’t really had any friends in a long time. Sure, I had acquaintances that I would talk to from time to time but I haven’t really had any friends in a while. So I guess… well, I’m going to be talking a lot tonight most likely, and I’ve been told that I talk too much and that I get annoying because I don’t give other people a chance to speak. So maybe I’m worried you’re not going to want to be friends with me anymore. You don’t… You don’t really realize you were missing something until you have it again. And once you do, you never want to let it go. You’re too scared to lose it. And then you start to wonder, what if I screw this up? What if I lose the one friend I’ve made in years? I was fine being alone, but now that I realize what I was missing out on… I’m watching every step I take and overthinking everything I do because I don’t want to mess this up.” He wanted to go on but stopped himself. He probably said too much already, and now Virgil would think this is his fault or he’ll get scared off because he doesn’t want to be with someone so fragile.

Logan was surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” Virgil said gently. “Look at me.” Once he did, he pulled his hand away so he could keep both hands on the wheel. “You’re not going to scare me off, okay? I don’t think you’re annoying or anything like that. In fact, I really like your ramblings. I learn so many cool new things, and it keeps me from having to make small talk. I hate small talk. You bring up all these interesting topics of conversation and I feel like I can actually connect with you. I’m not going to stop being friends with you over something stupid. You gotta really fuck up for me to dislike you, and I know you won’t do that. You’re a cool guy Logan. Everyone’s really missing out by ignoring you and bullying you.”

He felt his face heating up significantly, and he hoped Virgil didn’t notice. “Oh. Thank you. That’s really nice of you, Virgil.”

“It’s no problem,” he said with a shrug. He looked over and smiled at him. God, Logan loved that smile.

Virgil turned onto a street that had previously seemed invisible in the darkness. The pavement turned to dirt, and Logan instinctively held onto the doorhandle. He soon parked and stopped the car. “We’re here.”

They both got out of the car. Logan closed the door behind him and shivered. It was a lot colder here, probably because they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. He looked up at the sky, but it was hard to see anything due to the fact that his eyes had yet to adjust.

Virgil walked over carrying a blanket for them to lay on. He motioned for Logan to follow him, and the two made their way out into the grassy field. Once they found a good spot, he laid down the blanket and sat on it.

Logan sat next to him and looked around. “This place seems cool. How’d you find it?”

He shrugged. “I’ve driven around a lot and came by this place a few times. I think it’s used for sports sometimes, I don’t know.” He tilted his head back and looked at the sky. A smile spread across his face. “Look.”

He looked up at the sky and his mouth fell open. “Woah,” he said quietly. “You can see so many! It reminds me of when I used to go camping when I was little.”

Virgil’s gaze fell on Logan, and he smiled at how happy he looked. “It’s pretty huh?”

“It’s gorgeous!” He laid down so he could see them better, and Virgil soon followed him. “There’s the Big Dipper, that one’s always easy to spot. And you can see Mars over there, that little red one?” He went on, pointing out various constellations and talking about space in general. Virgil listened intently, occasionally looking over at him. That’s how he noticed that he kept shivering.

When Logan paused to gather his next thoughts, Virgil asked, “Are you cold? You keep shivering.”

He looked over at him and smiled shyly. “Yeah, kind of. I didn’t expect for it to be so cold. I should have grabbed a jacket when you told me to, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” He sat up and said, “You can wear my hoodie.”

Logan sat up as well and quickly said, “Oh no, you don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine. I don’t want you getting cold.”

“No, it’s fine,” Virgil insisted. “I was starting to get hot anyways.” He pulled off his hoodie, which cause his shirt underneath to ride up, exposing the fishnets he was wearing underneath. He adjusted the shirt, a long sleeved ripped one, and handed the hoodie to Logan. “Here.”

He hesitantly took the hoodie from him and slipped it on. It was still warm, and about two sizes too big for him. It smelled like cigarette smoke and something sweet, like sugar cookies or vanilla. He kind of liked it. No, he really liked it. He put his cold hands in the hoodie pocket and smiled at Virgil. “Thanks, this helps.”

He shrugged and smiled at him. “No problem. It looks good on you.”

He looked down at himself and then back up at Virgil. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. You look downright adorable.”

Logan’s face heated up significantly, and he instinctively put a hand up to his face to try and hide it.

“Oh my god, and you have sweater paws too. That is too cute.”

An embarrassed squeal came from him as he hid his face with both hands. He wasn’t complimented very often and got very, very flustered whenever someone did. He didn’t know what to say and just focused on trying to get his face to cool down.

Virgil chuckled and nudged him. “No need to be embarrassed about it Logan.” When he still didn’t take his hands away from his face, he looked back up at the sky. “What’s the little cluster of stars right there?”

Logan pulled his hands away from him face and looked up. He launched into an explanation of what they were, and he seemed to relax as he did so. He could feel Virgil watching him, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He just went on talking, finding comfort in the familiarity of all the things he was saying. 

At one point, Virgil’s hand slid under Logan’s, and he carefully intertwined their fingers. Logan’s heart jumped in his chest and his speech faltered. He looked down at their hands, smiled, and then continued what he’d been saying as if his heart wasn’t beating at a million miles per hour.

He eventually stopped to catch his breath and looked over at Virgil, who was still staring at him with a faint smile. Logan looked down at their hands and then up at Virgil, whose smile turned shy and bashful. He carefully moved closer to him, never breaking eye contact with him until they were practically touching. At that point, his gaze slid down to his lips.

Logan had no time to process the meaning of that look before he felt Virgil’s lips gently pressing against his own. At first he froze, too surprised to react. Then he found his eyes slipping shut as he carefully kissed back, hoping he was doing it right. He’d never kissed anyone before, which was probably really obvious, but he tried not to focus on that. Instead, he focused on the feeling of Virgil’s warm lips on his own. 

They pulled away from each other a few seconds later, both of them equally red in the face. Logan let out a nervous giggle and looked at Virgil. “Hey,” he said, not sure what else to say after that.

He chuckled and moved his spare hand to rest on his cheek. “Hey,” he murmured. His eyes were barely open, and they slipped shut again as he leaned in. 

They kissed again, both of them more confident in it this time, but still taking it slow. When they pulled away this time, Logan quickly hid his very red face in Virgil’s shoulder. 

“You alright Lo?” he asked, his hand moving from his face to wrap around him.

He nodded but didn’t show his face. “Yeah, just embarrassed,” he replied. “I uh… I’ve never kissed anybody before.”

He could tell he was smiling by the sound of his voice when he said, “Not too bad for a first kiss.”

He giggled and mumbled a thank you. Then he pulled away enough to look him in the eyes. “I’m glad you made the first move, I never would have gotten the courage to do it.”

Virgil chuckled and brushed some of Logan’s hair aside. “I must admit, my heart was beating so fast. I was scared you’d think I was taking it too far or that you wouldn’t like me at all. I’m glad my anxiety was wrong.”

Logan couldn’t contain his smile. “Can I… Can I hug you, please? I just want to hug you.”

“Of course, you don’t have to ask.”

He tightly wrapped his arms around him and hid his face in the crook of his neck. There were so many emotions swirling inside of him he could hardly decipher them. “I still can’t believe that just happened. Sorry if I was awkward.”

“No, no, you were fine.” He hugged him just as tightly and gently rubbed his back. “So… what does this make us?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, what do you want it to make us?”

He also shrugged. “We don’t have to decide now. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so… maybe you can come to my place and we can watch a movie? I would say go to the theaters but I’ve seen the stuff that’s out right now, none of it looks good. I have some sci-fi movies and different documentaries we can watch if you want. After that we can discuss what we want our relationship to be.”

“Do you have any horror?”

“Yeah, I’ve got tons of horror.”

“Can we maybe watch that?”

He chuckled. “I never would have thought you’d be someone who likes those movies.”

He shrugged. “Pointing out the inconsistencies and unrealistic features keep me from getting scared. I also like to make fun of the really unrealistic ones.”

“Oh, I know what movie you should watch then,” he said with a foreboding chuckle. “Alright, we can watch a horror movie at my place and call it a date. From there we can talk about what we are to each other.”

Logan grinned and gave him a gentle squeeze. “I would absolutely love that.”

“Awesome.” He sighed happily and gently wove his hand into Logan’s hair. He leaned into the touch and hummed as Virgil started to gently play with it. “I really like you Logan. I could go on and on about the reasons why. You’re just so… cool. That’s the easiest way I can put it.”

He pressed his face into his neck as a smile engulfed his features. “Thank you Virgil, that really means a lot.”

Virgil gently moved Logan’s head so that he could see him. “I love your smile, don’t hide it,” he said quietly.

His blush worsened and he bit his lip to try and stifle his smile. His cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling too much.

He chuckled and ruffled his hair playfully. “You are just too cute.” This resulted in Logan faceplanting into his chest to hide how embarrassed he was, which only made Virgil chuckle more. “You’re so adorable when flustered. You’re adorable all the time, actually.” He kissed the mess of red curls on his head. “Ya know what I’ve always wanted to do?” He got a questioning hum in response. “I always wanted to dance under the stars.”

Logan looked up at him and quickly said, “Oh, I can’t dance.”

“Neither can I.” He rested his hands on his hips. “But does that really matter? We can just sway like those couples at school dances.” When he seemed hesitant, he urged, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 

He thought about it for a moment before sighing. “Alright, I guess we can give it a shot.”

“Great!” Virgil got to his feet and extended a hand. “Let’s go.”

Logan took his hand and stood up. They walked away from the blanket to an open area of grass. He was suddenly pulled up against Virgil, who put his hands on his hips and smiled. Logan hesitantly wrapped his arms around his neck, and the two of them started to sway.

Virgil smiled down at him and pulled him closer. He gently lifted Logan’s glasses onto his head. “You have such beautiful eyes,” he mumbled. “Especially in the starlight.”

He smiled. “Really?”

“Yes, really. And the way your eyes light up when you talk about something you love is… I can’t even put it into words.”

Logan hid his face and said playfully, “You, sir, are far too good at embarrassing me. Stop it.”

He chuckled and started playing with his hair. “Am I good at embarrassing you, or are you just easy to embarrass?”

“Touché,” he mumbled. He leaned into his hand and asked, “How’d you know I like this? Playing with my hair, I mean.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t. It just looks so fluffy, I couldn’t resist.”

He giggled. “It is very fluffy indeed. When I was little and I’d get a fever, my mom would calm me down by combing her hands through my hair. It kind of reminds me of that I guess.”

“That’s really sweet,” Virgil commented. “Your mom’s a nice lady.”

“She really is, I love her.” He sighed and looked up at him. “Speaking of which, we should get going soon. It’s pretty late and I’m getting tired.”

He nodded. “Alright, we can go in a few minutes. I really enjoyed this, it was a lot of fun.”

“I agree, I really enjoyed myself.” He smiled at him and then looked at his lips. He put a hand on the back of his head to bring him down so that he could reach him. Then he gave him a brief, soft kiss. “Let’s go now.”

They folded up the blanket and then went back to the car. They didn’t say much until they got close to Logan’s house.

Virgil looked over and asked, “Have you come out to your mom yet?”

He shook his head. “No. I know she’ll be fine with it, I just haven’t gotten around to it and I’m kind of worried.”

He nodded. “I’m sure it’ll be fine Logan. I think you should tell her on the sooner side since you and I are probably going to be a thing.”

“I will. How about I tell her after our date tomorrow?”

“That would be perfect.” He parked outside of his house. “Do you want me to walk you to the door?”

“I’ll be fine. Oh, you probably want your hoodie back.” He moved to take it off. 

He put out a hand to stop him and said, “No, keep it.”

His face lit up with happiness. “Really?”

“Yeah, it looks good on you. You can keep it for now, I doubt I’ll be needing it anytime soon.”

He smiled and leaned over to hug him. “Thank you.” He kissed his cheek and asked, “When should I come over?”

He hugged back and asked, “Does noon sound good? I can order pizza.”

“That would be perfect.” He pulled back and got out of the car. “Bye, see you tomorrow!”

“See ya,” Virgil said with a wave. Once Logan had walked into his house, he drove off. 

The next day at noon sharp, Logan knocked on his door. He’d been to his house several times, but this time felt different. He knew his parents were out due to the lack of cars in the driveway, so it would just be the two of them, but that wasn’t it. It was probably because this was a date. He really wished he wasn’t so nervous about this. 

He heard footsteps and the sound of a lock turning. The door opened to reveal Virgil, who was wearing sweatpants and an MCR t-shirt. His hair was down and he looked like he’d rushed to get out of bed. “Sorry for my appearance, I forgot to set an alarm and didn’t wake up until, like, five minutes ago. Here, come in, I’ll have you order the pizza while I finish getting ready, if that’s alright with you.”

Logan walked in and said, “I’m okay with that. And there’s no rush Virgil, take your time. You can stay in that if you want, I don’t care.”

“No, no, I’ll actually get ready. Okay, so I’ll pay for the pizza, you order it. I don’t care what you get so long as it’s not pepperoni.” He kissed the top of his head and said, “I’ll be right back.” Then he rushed off to his room.

He chuckled and plopped down on the couch. He called the pizza place and order a simple cheese pizza. You could never go wrong with that. A few minutes later, Virgil came out in ripped black jeans, a purple shirt, and a black jean jacket. Logan raised an eyebrow and asked, “No fishnets today?”

He shrugged. “Nah, they’re such a pain to put on, and I didn’t want to keep you waiting.” He sat down next to him and said, “Sorry again for all that.”

“It’s fine, really. It’s not the end of the world that I saw you in sweatpants,” he said.

“It kinda is though,” he said with a chuckle. Then he frowned and raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me why you’re wearing short sleeves.”

Logan looked down as if noticing for the first time that he was indeed wearing a short sleeve shirt. “Oh, I must have forgotten my jacket,” he deadpanned. 

He raised an eyebrow and said, “You just want to steal another hoodie, don’t you?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I want,” he said with a giggle.

He huffed and stood up. “I’ll be back.” He left and returned a few minutes later with a hoodie that was plain black in the chest area and white flannel on the arms. “Here you go.”

Logan took the hoodie and pulled off his glasses. He set them aside and then pulled on the hoodie. He put the glasses back on and fixed his hair. “This is a cool hoodie,” he remarked.

“Thank you, I found it at a thrift store on vacation one day,” he said as he sat next to him again. He wrapped an arm around him and added, “You look very handsome.”

He blushed and leaned into the touch. “Thank you. Now, are we going to watch a movie or not?”

Virgil grabbed the remote and found a good horror movie Logan hadn’t seen yet. “Lights on or off?” he asked.

“Off, obviously. Just know the pizza will probably interrupt the movie,” he said.

“Eh, it’ll be fine. Pizza’s worth the interruption.” He got up and turned off all the lights. Then he returned to his spot next to Logan and pulled him close.

As the movie started, Logan found himself constantly fidgeting with the edge of the hoodie. Virgil seemed completely relaxed, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting, and that annoyed him. It wasn’t the movie putting him on edge, barely anything had happened, so he wasn’t sure what it was. He looked over at him and whispered, “Hey Virgil?”

“Hm?” He turned to look at him. 

“Can I braid your hair?”

He frowned in confusion. “Braid my hair? How do you know how to braid hair?”

He shrugged and explained, “When I was little, I refused to let my hair get cut because I really liked my red curls. I would often play outside which resulted in my hair getting super tangled. So, my mom taught me how to brain my hair so that it wouldn’t get tangled. Then, in first grade, people made fun of me for the braids so I cut my hair.”

“Mean kids,” he mumbled. “I’m sure you looked awesome in your braids.”

He smiled. “Thank you. So, can I?”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” He moved to sit on the floor, his back to the couch. 

Logan shifted so that his legs were on either side of his face. “Do you want one braid or two?”

“One should be fine.”

He nodded and got to work, being extremely careful with his hair. The last thing he wanted was to hurt him. The braiding gave his hands something to do as he watched the movie, so he wasn’t so fidgety. He got jumpscared a few times which resulted in him accidentally pulling on his hair, which was followed by him apologizing eight million times. Virgil always brushed it off though, which was reassuring. 

He finally finished braiding and asked, “Do you have a hair tie?” Virgil pulled one off his wrist and handed it to him. He tied the end of his braid and said, “There, all done!” He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. “Turn around and let me see.”  
Virgil turned around and looked up at him. “How does it look?”

Logan smiled brightly and said, “You look amazing! Go look in the mirror.”

He pulled out his phone and used that as a mirror. He smiled and said, “It looks great Logan, you did a good job.” He got up and sat down next to him. “I never would have thought I’d look good in a braid.”

“Well, now you know.” He leaned in to kiss him, but was stopped by a knock at the door.

“I got it.” Virgil got up and answered the door. He came back a few minutes later and said, “Pizza’s here.” He set it on the coffee table and sat next to him again. 

They resumed the movie and ate their pizza. They didn’t talk much, just enjoyed one another’s company and tried not to let the movie scare them too much. There were also few times where they got distracted kissing each other and didn’t pay any attention to the movie during that period of time. 

It was towards the end that Virgil spoke up. “So, about our relationship with each other,” he said. He turned Logan’s head to look at him. “Will you be my boyfriend?”

He smiled and nodded vigorously as a dark blush spread across his face. “Yes, I would love to be your boyfriend.” Before he could reply, he kissed him. He was a lot more comfortable doing that now, and he was going to kiss him any chance he got.

When they pulled away, Virgil said, “It makes me so happy to hear that. Now, since we are dating, there are some things we should talk about. What are you comfortable with doing at school? I honestly don’t care if people know we’re dating and see us holding hands and stuff, but what are you comfortable with?”

Logan frowned as he thought about that. It hadn’t been something he’d considered. “I don’t really know. I mean… I’d probably get bullied more than I already do if people knew. But at the same time, I don’t want to pretend like there’s nothing between us. So, I guess… do what we want to do but don’t be surprised if there’s a time I say I don’t want to publicly show affection because I’m scared of what people will think.”

He nodded. “That seems reasonable. And I swear, if anyone gives you shit around me, I’ll make sure they never do that again.”

He smiled and hugged him. “Thanks Virgil. You’re a really cool guy, I hope you know that.”

He hugged back and kissed his head. “And I hope you know that you’re also very cool.”

Not too long after, Logan had to go home. Virgil walked him there, and with every step he grew more anxious. He was going to come out to his mom and he was nervous about it. When they arrived outside at his house, he turned and asked, “Can you come with me? Please?”

“Of course I can. You’re going to do great Logan.” He gave him a reassuring smile.

He took Virgil’s hand and breathed deeply. Then he walked inside with him. “Mom? Are you here?”

His mom came out of the kitchen and smiled. “Hey! How was the movie?” Her eyes trailed down, and she noticed their hands intertwined hands. She looked between the two of them, her eyebrows raised.

“Mom,” Logan said, practically forcing the words to leave his mouth, “this is my boyfriend. Virgil’s my boyfriend now.”

She looked between the two of them again and smiled. She put a hand over her heart and said, “Oh, Logan.” She walked over and pulled him into a tight hug, which he gladly returned. “I’m so proud of you for telling me, and for finding such a fine young man to date.”

He felt tears welling up in his eyes as he hugged back. He knew she’d be accepting, but it was still a hard thing to do. Hearing her actually say she accepted him made all the difference in the world. “I love you mom,” he said, his voice cracking halfway through.

“I love you too Logan. Oh, I’m getting emotional.” She pulled away and fanned her face to try and keep from crying. “We’ll have to talk more about this when I’m not so emotional.” She looked over at Virgil and said, “Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how lonely he was before you came along and really brightened up his life. It has really been taking a toll on his mental health.”

“Mom,” he said warningly.

“Right, right, sorry, I’m not supposed to talk about that.” She smiled at Virgil. “You should come over for dinner sometime, and invite your parents too.”

He quickly shook his head. “No, um, I don’t think that’d be the best idea to invite them. But I’ll gladly come over for dinner sometime.”

“Oh, okay, that works too,” she said.

Logan wiped his eyes and looked at Virgil. “I’ll see you at school then?”

“Yeah, see you then.” He hugged him goodbye and then walked out of the room. 

Logan was nervous going to school on Monday, to say the least. He sat at the front of the bus with Virgil as usual, and he had decided to read in order to distract himself. Virgil was polite enough to give him the space to do that. Once they got onto campus, Virgil asked, “Are you okay?”

He sighed and hugged his book to his chest. “Yeah, I’m just… I’m nervous. I’m worried people are going to judge or…”

“Hey,” he said gently. He carefully took his hand and held it loosely so that he could pull away if he wanted to. “It’s going to be fine. Fuck what they think, honestly. They take their insecurities out on you, which is totally unfair. Just try to ignore them, okay? I’m right here for you.” 

He nodded and tightened his grip on his hand. “I’ll try to ignore them, but there’s only so much I can do.”

“You’ll do great Logan, I know it.”

Nothing happened until they were walking in the halls to their first period class. People seemed to be avoiding them and they were obviously whispering about them behind their hands. Virgil glared at everyone he passed and said, “What is it, huh? Afraid you’re gonna catch the gay? Scared to get infected by the rainbow? Grow up, seriously.”

A small chuckle came from Logan, but it quickly died away. He didn’t like how people were looking at them. He was tempted to just pull away from Virgil, but his hand almost felt glued in place.

Virgil made as if to walk towards some of the people avoiding them, and they flinched backwards. “Fucking assholes, there’s nothing wrong with two guys holding hands. Imagine if people did that to you when you’re making out int he halls. Just mind your own business. Come on Logan.” He started to pull him away when a voice called out a slur. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. “Who said that?”

A boy proudly raised his hand. “I did. You got a problem with that?”

He let go of Logan’s hand and glared at him. “Say that again, I dare you.”

“Virgil, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Logan said quietly.

The boy crossed his arms and repeated the word, making it very clear what he was saying. In five second flat, Virgil was standing right in front of him. He rose to his full height and squared his shoulders. He grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt and brought him close to his face. “Say that again and see what happens,” he growled. At this point, people had backed away and taken out their phones to record, sensing a fight.

He repeated the word and added, “You smell like one, too.”

Virgil’s fist went flying, hitting the guy in the eye. Then he shoved him against the wall and said, “Don’t ever say that to me or anyone else ever again.” He started walking away, but the guy grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. Virgil swung around and punched him again, hitting his nose this time. It started to bleed, causing the guy to swear. 

Logan put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder and said, “Drop it, let’s go before you get into more trouble than you already will be.”

He would have gone, but the guy decided to throw a punch of his own right into Virgil’s stomach. The two started fighting, both of them trying to get the upper hand. By the time staff arrived to intervene, Virgil had the guy pinned to the ground. His face and knuckles were bloody, but the other guy looked a lot worse. 

Both of them ended up in the nurse’s office, and Logan tagged along so he could help explain the story to the principal. He was currently pacing in front of Virgil, who’d been bandaged up and was holding an ice pack to his nose. “You could have just walked away, you could have ignored him, you literally could have done anything except for beat him up! Now you might get suspended or even expelled. You should have just kept on walking, you can’t just go punching everyone that says something rude.”

Virgil sighed and leaned back in his seat. “He deserved it though, and hopefully that’ll teach him and everyone else to back off. He was being rude to you, and I couldn’t let that slide.”

“Virgil, most of the school is rude to me! I get bullied every single day, and if you went around punching every single person who did that your hand would break.” He sank into the seat next to him and buried his face in his hands. “I’m just concerned about you,” he said quietly. “I was really worried back there. You can’t scare me like that again.”

“Lo, I’m fine now,” he said gently. “Just a little banged up but I’m going to be fine.” He leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Have you talked to the principal yet?”

He shook his head. “No, he’s still talking to the guy you beat up.” He sighed and fixed his hair. “I really hope you don’t get suspended.”

“I’m sure I won’t, I had a good reason for what I did.”

And he was right, he didn’t get suspended. But he got lunch detention for the rest of the week, which left Logan alone in the library once again. He couldn’t help but feel extremely lonely during his time there. He missed talking to Virgil, and now they barely got to see each other during school except for passing periods. The time he got alone gave him plenty of time to think, which wasn’t a good thing in this situation.

He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this was a bad idea, them being together. Everyone was right, they really were very different from one another. Plus, it was only making things worse for the two of them. The bullying had increased significantly, and he wished he had the courage to tell an adult about it. But there were just too many people doing it, and he knew turning people in would only result in more teasing. Maybe he should just move schools. No, he couldn’t do that. He could just go back to being a loner, but where would that leave Virgil? He didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and he didn’t want to lose the only friend he’d made. Plus, he was his boyfriend, he didn’t want to lose his first boyfriend over something so silly.

Logan started actively avoiding Virgil on Wednesday, two days after the fight. He took a different route to class and read his book the whole bus ride. On Thursday, he moved to a different seat on the bus and took a different route home. He couldn’t remember a time he cried himself harder to sleep than that night. He hated that he was doing this but he felt like avoidance was better than confrontation. Clearly, Virgil didn’t think the same thing.

Virgil confronted him after school on Friday. Logan was walking home, pretending to be reading his book as he walked. He ignored Virgil as he called his name. It wasn’t until he nearly ran into him that he finally gave notice to him. “What?” he asked, harsher than he meant.

He plucked the book from his hands. “Logan, what’s going on? You’ve been avoiding me all week and haven’t answered a single text. I’ve been trying to talk to you. What’s going on? What did I do wrong?”

He took his book back and mumbled, “Leave me alone.” He tried walking away, but Virgil stepped in front of him.

“Please, just tell me what I did wrong.”

He sighed and shook his head. “You didn’t do anything, I just…”

“What? You just what? If you’re not ready for a relationship then just tell me.”

He shook his head again. “Not that either. Just… come with me, I don’t want to talk about this here.” He started to walk, and Virgil followed him. He led him to his house and was glad to see his mom wasn’t home. He brought him to his room and set his stuff down. He sat on the bed while Virgil took a seat in his desk chair.  
“Okay, talk. What’s been going on?”

He looked down and could already feel himself getting upset as all of the thoughts swirled inside of his head. Before he could stop it, tears came to his eyes and he sobbed out, “I’m sorry.”

Virgil quickly got to his feet and sat next to him. He pulled him into his arms and mumbled, “Hey, hey, it’s okay Logan, it’s okay.” He gently rubbed his back to try and sooth him.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “People were just saying all these things and I was having these doubts and I thought avoiding you would be the best idea and-”

“Shh, shh, don’t try to talk right now, just let it out. You can talk once you’ve calmed down,” he mumbled. He started to play with his hair to help calm him down.

After a few minutes of crying, he pulled away and grabbed some tissues. He blew his nose and wiped his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” he muttered. 

“You don’t have to apologize,” he reassured. “Now are you ready to tell me what’s going on?”

He nodded and took a deep breath. “People have been bullying me even more than they have before, and there’s so many of them that I can’t report them to the teachers. Even if I do, then it’ll just make it worse because I’ll get made fun of for saying something. It happened a couple years ago when I turned some people in. The bullying has always been bad and now it’s worse so I just… I just got it into my head that maybe we just shouldn’t be together, maybe it’s a bad idea, and it was so stupid I know but my head just kept screaming at me to cut you off and go back to being alone because at least then I could pretend like it didn’t bother me. But I can’t keep pretending, I can’t keep pretending this constant bullying hasn’t severely affected my mental health in ways I’m too ashamed to admit. I thought I could just push you away but that only hurt both of us and I’m sorry, I was stupid I know and I understand if you want to leave me. I was an awful boyfriend, I’m sorry.”

He was expecting to get yelled at, to be told he hated him, for him to storm out. Instead, Virgil reached out and took his hand. “It’s okay to have those kind of second thoughts,” he said gently. “It’s normal for things bullies say to get to your head. I get it. I was bullied once too, and I built a ‘fuck you’ persona to chase them off. I know it’s hard to deal with that, and you clearly have it worse than I ever did. But I’m going to help make it better, okay? I promise.”

Logan couldn’t help but feel hopeful. “Really? You mean that?”

Virgil smiled. “Yes, I mean that. I really do. You’ll get through this.”

“So… you’re not mad at me?”

“No, of course not. Yeah, it sucked, and I really wish you had told me sooner, but people make mistakes. It’s part of life. Now come here and give me a hug.”

Logan smiled and hugged him tightly. “Thank you Virgil.”

“Anytime Lo.”


End file.
